JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We have an update to an Action News Jax investigation into Jacksonville’s Park Safety Council in May. After years of attendance issues, a city spokesperson tells Action News Jax the group should have enough members at its upcoming meeting to do the work it was created to do.
The volunteer-led group was created by executive order in 2020. It came after a toddler named Amari Harley fell into an unsecured septic tank and died at an Arlington park in 2017.
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The Park Safety Council is tasked with reviewing park inspections and then putting out quarterly reports to the mayor, city council and media.
But in May, an Action News Jax investigation found the group has only put out one report since it started, because not enough members are showing up to meetings.
The six-member group needs a quorum of four people to vote and approve their reports. Earlier this year, Action News Jax Anchor Tenikka Hughes sat down with Park Safety Council chair Bruce Tyson, who said he had been asking city leaders for help with the attendance issues for years.
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He said he also asked if the executive order could be changed to reduce the quorum from four people down to three.
“I’ve made that request to several different people and entities, and so far I’ve seen no action on it,” Tyson said.
When Action News took Tyson’s concerns to the city in May, a spokesperson said the administration would consider amending the executive order’s quorum requirement from four to three members. The city also said park safety and inspections are a top priority.
Action News Jax followed up with the city for an update on the status of any changes to the executive order. On July 1, Chief Communications Officer Phil Perry sent the following statement: “We have appointed another board member to the Park Safety Council, and they should have a quorum at their July meeting. There is one more board seat that the Parks Department is looking to fill. It’s our intention to see if these new positions smooth out the past quorum challenges before we look to update the executive order that created the Council.”
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For those in the community interested in joining the Park Safety Council, you can get an application from the Parks Department or from the Director of Boards and Commissions.
The Parks Department reviews applications and then makes recommendations to the Mayor, who makes the final appointments.
While the Park Safety Council is made up of six members, one from each of the city’s planning districts, Tyson said everyone is invited to attend their meetings and get involved with park safety.
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